Blower wheel blade mounting



Jan. 25, 1966 v w L s ETAL 3,231,177

BLOWER WHEEL BLADE MOUNTING Filed July 29, 1964 l3 2 IElEr,-l 22 a [Q 4 l9 W ;.i l '11 1 1J g N l iii 2 I 3 ii a 3 HNVENTUFQS VERNEIN H. WILLIAMS JAMES H. MCAULEY III JYWJ. mm

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofitice 3,231,177 Patented Jan. 25, 1966 3,231,177 BLOWER WHEEL BLADE MOUNTING Vernon H. Williams, near Columbus, and James B.

McAuley HI, near Greensburg, Ind., assiguors to Vernco Corporation, Columbus, Inch, a corporation of Indiana Filed July 29, 1964, Ser. No. 385,961 4 Claims. (Cl. 230134) This invention relates to a blower wheel of the drum type and particularly relates to the mounting of the individual blades.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a mounting means whereby a maximum number of blades may be mounted around the blower in order to get the maximum possible air flow upon rotation of the wheel.

Heretofore, these blower wheels have been made primarily out of strip metal with the blades being punched from the strip and maintained by their ends in connection with that strip, and this of course limited the number of blades which could be had in a given circumference of the wheel, in view of the fact that the width of the blade had to be formed from the strip and consequently just so many blades could be stamped from the strip for a given length.

Other methods have been employed for individually mounting blades, but in so mounting, a riveting or bending over of the blades on their outer ends had to be employed.

In the present invention, the outer ring of the wheel and the rim of the back plate are notched to receive the blades by ends through said notches, with a reduced length of blade passing under an offset in both the ring and the back plate, and protuberances are formed in the ends of the individual blades to have one protuberance on the outside of the ring and rim, and a second protuberance on the inside thereof as a means for holding the blades in positions longitudinally of the wheel. The ends of the blades carrying the protrusions are wedged into slots as indicated, and are held therein by frictional resistance to movement.

In addition to being able to mount a greater number of blades for a given circumference of wheel, the blades also may be made wider if desirable, depending upon the amount of air flow required.

The foregoing advantages of the invention will become apparent to those versed in the art in the following description of one particular form of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a wheel asesmbled with blades in a manner involving the invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail in vertical elevation on the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a. detail in vertical section on the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail in top perspective of the outer rim of the wheel showing the blade end receiving slot; and

FIG. 5 isa view in vertical section similar to that shown in FIG. 2, but with a slightly modified form of outer rim.

An outer ring is formed to have an arcuate surface 11 in its outer face, and from the inner edge of the face 11, the ring is turned inwardly in relation to the length of the wheel, and then has a flange 12 radially extending from this inturned ring 13. This outer ring 10 is provided with evenly spaced apart slots 14, FIG. 4, entering through the outer margin 15 and terminating by an end 16 spaced from the ring 13. The slot 14 is wider at its outer open end, and converge inwardly toward the end 16, the spacing apart of the slots 14 adjacent the end 15 being a trifle less than the width or rather thickness of the individual blades 17 so that a pressure on each blade 17 is required to position the blade end in the slot 14 as will be further explained.

Each of the blades 17 is formed to have oflset ends provided with an end portion 18 extending laterally along the end to an end portion 19 which extends longitudinally beyond the portion 18, FIG. 5. Also the same blade end formation is used in the form shown in FIG. 2. The extending portions 19 at both ends of the blades 17 are entered through the slots 14 respectively around the ring and the rim 25 of the back plate 30 which carries the mounting and driving hubs (not shown) Each blade 17 is provided with a pair of adjacent protrusions 20 and 21 extending from a common side of the blade, and primarily within the extension portion 19, FIGS. 2 and 5. Intermediate these two protrusions, there is a minor protuberance 22, FIG. 3, wherein this minor protuberance extends and terminates at about the center line of the thickness of the blade, and the protrusions 20 and 21 extend beyond that same side 23 of the blade at distance approximately equal to the thickness of the blade. These are proportions given as examples, rather than as limiting the invention thereto.

Both the ring 10 and the outwardly extending back plate rim 25 are arcuate, the rim 25 being concave from its back or outer side as is also the ring 10.

The end portion 19 is engaged within the slot 14, and pushed inwardly thereof to have the upstanding edge 26 come into close proximity with the ring 13, and the major edge 18 of the blade 17 pass slidingly under the inturned flange 12. In so doing, the protrusion 26') will be positioned over the topside of the ring 11) and also at the opposite end over the rim 25, and the protrusion 21 in each instance will be under the members, while the central protuberance 22 will be within the slot 14, and seated in the indentation 28 thereby being a positive means retaining the blade in addition to the frictional engagement between the walls of the slot 14.

Thus, both ends of the blades 17 in each instance are rigidly held, and mounted against lengthwise displacement, and the engagement within the lowermost portion of the arc of the surface 15 prevents outward travel in the slots, in addition to the forced fit of the end portion 19 adjacent the slot end 16 in each instance. The end portion 18 of each blade 17 is held under the flange 12 and the back plate 30 so that rocking of the blades 17 is prevented and the blades are maintained at right angles to their end holding ring and back plate rim.

The slightly modified form of this structure is shown in FIG. 5 where the blade 17 is fixed in identically the same manner by its ends, but where the ring 10 is somewhat longer, and may be bent around from the dotted line position, FIG. 5, and downwardly over the outer edge of the blade 17 in each instance, this downturned portion 27 being carried circumferentially around the wheel.

While we have herein shown and described our invention in the one particular form, it is obvious that structural changes may be embodied without departing from the spirit of the invention, and we therefore do not desire to be limited to this precise form beyond the limitations which may be required by the following claims.

We claim:

1. Blade mounting in a blower wheel comprising spaced apart blade holding annular members;

said members each having a concave section radially of the rim with convex, opposing sides; each of said members having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart slits slightly tapered in width and extending radially across said concave sections;

said slits having a circumferential width at margins wider at outer than at terminal inner ends;

a plurality of blades;

a pair of longitudinally spaced apart protrusions on sides of the blades adjacent respective blade ends, said spacing being substantially equal to the thickness of said members in their concave sections;

a protuberance intermediate said protrusions;

said blade ends being inserted in respective slits of said members with one of said protrusions on the concave rim side and the other protrusion in the same pair on the convex rim side, both of said protrusions of the respective pairs being in compressive contact with the rims;

said slits each having an indentation in a wall of the slit; and

said blade ends being, in forced fit retention between the sides of said slits; one protrusion on each side of the rims, and the protuberance seated in. said indentation.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which said protrusions are round domes spaced apart in each pair and engage compressively upper and lower corner edges of said members by curved sides of the protrusions.

3. The structure of claim 1, in which each of said members has a ring extending from radial- 4 1y inward member sides longitudinally of the wheel; each of said members terminates in a radially inturned flange; each of said blade respective ends has a longitudinally offset portion passing under each of said flanges. 4. The structure of claim 1, in Which there is an outer peripheral portion of at least one of said members turned over ontoouter end portions of said blades.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,125,697 8/1938 Swingle et al 230'-134 2,181,592 11/1939 Sullivan 2'3.0'134 2,496,179 1/1950 Sehwarz 230-134 2,557,201 6/1951 Punt 230l34 2,592,851 4/1952 Beranek 2'3O'1 34 FOREIGN PATENTS 225,640 12/1924 Great Britain. 623,149 5/ 1949 Great Britain.

SAMUEL LEVINE, Primary Examiner.

H. F. RADUAZO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. BLADE MOUNTING IN A BLOWER WHEEL COMPRISING SPACED APART BLADE HOLDING ANNULAR MEMBERS; SAID MEMBERS EACH HAVING A CONCAVE SECTION RADIALLY OF THE RIM WITH CONVEX, OPPOSING SIDES; EACH OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APART SLITS SLIGHTLY TAPERED IN WIDTH AND EXTENDING RADIALLY ACROSS SAID CONCAVE SECTIONS; SAID SLITS HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL WIDTH AT MARGINS WIDER AT OUTER THAN AT TERMINAL INNER ENDS; A PLURALITY OF BLADES; A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED APART PROTRUSIONS ON SIDES OF THE BLADES ADJACENT RESPECTIVE BLADE ENDS, SAID SPACING BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE THICKNESS OF SAID MEMBERS IN THEIR CONCAVE SECTIONS; A PROTUBERANCE INTERMEDIATE SAID PROTRUSIONS; SAID BLADE ENDS BEING INSERTED IN RESPECTIVE SLITS OF SAID MEMBERS WITH ONE OF SAID PROTRUSIONS ON THE CONCAVE RIM SIDE AND THE OTHER PROTRUSION IN THE SAME PAIR ON THE CONVEX RIM SIDE, BOTH OF SAID PROTRUSIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE PAIRS BEING IN COMPRESSIVE CONTACT WITH THE RIMS; SAID SLITS EACH HAVING AN INDENTATION IN A WALL OF THE SLIT; AND SAID BLADE ENDS BEING IN FORCED FIT RETENTION BETWEEN THE SIDES OF SAID SLITS; ONE PROTRUSION ON EACH SIDE OF THE RIMS, AND THE PROTUBERANCE SEATED IN SAID INDENTATION. 